Lecture By:

Engr. Mina Arshad

INTRODUCTION
 Glass may be defined as a rigid, undercooled liquid having no definite
melting point and sufficiently high viscosity to prevent crystallization

 Glass has many uses because of its transparency, high resistance to

chemical attack, effectiveness as an electrical insulator, and ability to
contain vacuum

 Glass is a brittle material and characteristically exhibits compressive

strength much greater than its tensile strength

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

 When silica or quartz is heated up to 1650°C it melts to a colorless
liquid which on cooling gives glass

 This fused mass is highly sensitive to temperature change therefore it

requires special heat treatment so that ordinary glass can be
manufacture which is much stable to temperature change

 The glass of various commercial qualities is prepared by heating sand

or quartz along with metal oxide or carbonates

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

GLASS TYPES
Three common types of glass:

 Soda-lime glass - 95% of all glass; windows, containers etc.

 Lead glass - contains lead oxide to improve refractive index
 Borosilicate - contains Boron oxide, known as Pyrex

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

  Flat glass (windows)

 Container glass (bottles)

 Pressed and blown glass (dinnerware)

 Glass fibres (home insulation)

 Advanced/specialty glass (optical fibres)

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

TYPES OF GLASSES
1. SODA-LIME OR SOFT GLASSES
 The raw materials are silica (sand), calcium carbonate and soda ash
 Their approximate composition is Na2O.CaO.6SiO2
 About 90-95% of all glasses produced belong to soda lime glass. The
low cost, low melting point soda-lime glass has resistant to de-
vitrification and to water
 However, they have poor resistance to common reagents like acids
USES
They are used as window glass, electric bulbs, plate/flat glass, bottles,
jars, building blocks and cheaper tablewares, where high temperature
resistance and chemical stability are required.
Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad
2. POTASH-LIME OR HARD GLASSES
 Silica (sand), calcium carbonate and potassium carbonate are the
basic raw material for potash lime glass
 Their approximate composition is K2O.CaO.6SiO2
 They possess high melting point, fuse with difficulty and have good
resistance to acids, alkalis and other solvents compare to ordinary
glasses

USES
These glasses are costlier than soda-lime glasses and are used for
chemical apparatus, combustion tubes, etc., which are to be used for
heating operations.

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

3. LEAD GLASS OR FLINT GLASS
 Instead of calcium oxide, lead oxide is fused with silica
 As much as 80% of lead oxide is incorporated for dense optical
glasses. In addition, K2O is used instead of sodium oxide
 So, its approximate composition is K2O.PbO.6SiO2
 Lead glass is more expensive than ordinary lime-soda glass, but it
is much easier to shape and to work with
 Lead glass has a lower softening temperature and higher
refractive index than soda glass
 It has excellent electrical properties. It is bright, lustrous
Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad
USES
 Lead glasses are used for high quality table
wares, optical lenses, neon sign tubing,
cathode ray tubes, electrical insulators and in
the art objects because of their high luster

 High lead content glasses are used for extra

dense optical glasses, for windows and shields
to protect personnel from X-rays and gamma
rays in medical and atomic energy fields
respectively

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

4. BOROSILICATE GLASS OR PYREX GLASS
 It is the most common of the hard glasses of commerce which contain
virtually only silica and borax with a small amount of alumina and still less
alkaline oxides. Borosilicate glass has the following composition

 Borosilicate glasses have an excellent resistivity to shock

USES
They are used in pipelines for corrosive liquids, gauge
glasses, superior laboratory apparatus, kitchen-wares,
chemical plants, television tubes, electrical insulators
etc.
Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad
5. 96% SILICA GLASS
 It is produced and shaped as typical borosilicate glass, having
dimensions bigger than desired
 The heat treatment to the article, separate the glass into two layers,
one consisting mainly of silica and the other of the alkali oxides and
borates. Then article is dipped in hot acid which dissolves away the
alkali oxides and boron oxide layer, leaving behind a fine porous
structure consisting of about 96% silica, 3% B2O3 and traces of other
materials
 This glass is then washed carefully and annealed to 1200°C
 The shrinkage of about 14% takes place and hard firm shape is
produced
 The translucent 96% glass, if it is so desired heated to a higher
temperature and made almost transparent or clear
 It is expensive than other types of glasses. The expansion coefficient is
very low which accounts for its high resistance to thermal shot. They
possess high chemical resistance to most corrosive agents. They are
corroded by only HF, hot H3PO4 and concentrated alkaline solutions
Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad
USES
They are used where high temperature resistance is required and articles
can be safely used at temperature up to 800°C. They are used for the
constructed chemical plants, laboratory crucibles, induction furnace
linings, electrical insulators.

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

6. SAFETY GLASS
Thin layer of vinyl plastic is introduced between two or three flat sheets
of glass and the whole is subjected to slight pressure. It is then heated till
the glass layers and plastic layers merge into one another to give a
sandwich.
On cooling the glass becomes quite tough. When such a glass breaks it
does not fly into pieces as the inner plastic layer tends to hold back the
broken pieces of the glass.

USES
It is mostly used in automobile and
aeroplane industries as wind shield.

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

7. Optical glasses
 They contain phosphorus and lead silicate, together with a little
cerium oxide, is capable of absorbing harmful UV light
 Very careful manufacturing process of heating the molten mass for
prolonged time secured the homogeneity of the glass
 In general optical glasses have low melting points and are relatively
soft. Their chemical resistant and durability are appreciably lower
than those of ordinary glasses

USES
Used for manufacture of lenses.

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

 8. Insulating Glass
It is a transparent unit prepared by using two or more plates of glass
separated by 6-13 mm thick gap, filled up with dehydrated air and
then thematically sealing around the edges
This provides a high insulation against heat
Thus, if such a glass is used for separating apartments, it does not
transmit heat and consequently the apartments will remain cool
during summer and warm during winter

USES
It is used as thermal insulating materials.

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

9. Laminated Glass
 Itis made by pressing or bonding together two or more sheets /plates of
glass with one or more alternating layer of bonding material like plastic
resin, asphalt or synthetic rubber

 The essential qualities of the laminated glass are;

 It is shatter-proof, i.e. its pieces do not fly off when suddenly broken
 It
is shock-proof, i.e. it can with stand sudden changes of temperature
and pressure without breaking

A bullet-resistant laminated glass is manufactured by pressing together

several layers of glass with vinyl resins in alternate layers. Ordinary,
thickness of such glass varies from 12.7 mm - 76.5 mm. Even thicker types
are made for specific uses
Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad
USES
As safety glass are used in aircrafts,
automobiles, helicopters, submarines.
Bullet resistant lamination glass finds
application in making automobile
wind screens, looking windows etc.

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

10. FIBER GLASS
 Fiber glass is nothing but molten glass processed mechanically to a
flexible thread or filament
A hot platinum nozzle filled with molten glass forces out the fluid in the
form of a thin continuous thread which when caught by a rapidly
moving disc gets converted into fiber through elongation and twist
given by the disc. Fabrics made of glass are bad conductors of heat
and electricity and are non-inflammable. Hence articles made of fiber
glass are fire proof

USES
Such type of glass is used in textiles and reinforcing and can be spun
into yarn, gathered into a mat, and made into insulation and a great
variety of other products may be with it.
Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad
 FIBER GLASS
Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad
MANUFACTURING OF GLASS
RAW MATERIAL
The raw material in glass manufacturing may be selected from the
following;
 Sand, soda ash, calcium oxide, feldspar, borax, magnesia, zinc,
alumina, lead oxide, manganese oxide, selenium metal, broken glass,
fluxes, coloring agent, reducing agent, oxidizing agent etc.
 Oxides should satisfy following conditions:
 Every oxygen atom must be attached with 2-4 cations e.g. SiO2, B2O3,
GeO2, P2O5 and As2O5
 The oxygen polyhedral must share the corner position and not the
edge
 At least three corners of each tetrahedron must be share
Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad
CLASSIFICATION OF OXIDES
The oxides used for glass manufacture are classified into following groups;

a) Network former
b) Network modifier
c) Intermediate glass formers
d) Oxidizing agent
e) Refining agent
f) Cullet
g) Coloring agent

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

a) NETWORK FORMER
These are oxides of elements which are surrounded by four oxygen
atoms in the tetrahedral chain forming glass

b) NETWORK MODIFIER
 These are large diameter elements having higher co-ordination
number. On simple melting they do not give glass but in presence of
other network forming oxides they can give glassy products easily
 The important network modifiers are oxides of alkali metal, alkaline
earth metals, lead, zinc etc.

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

c) INTERMEDIATE GLASS FORMERS
They do not give glass on melting but in presence of some network
formers using their co-ordination number they start giving glass. e.g.,
Oxides of aluminum, silica.

d) OXIDIZING AGENT
Material like sodium nitrate or certain peroxides are used to reduce the
colour of impurities like iron oxides and manganese oxide.

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

e) REFINING AGENT
To reduce or to eliminate quantity of air bubbles from molten glass
refining agents like arsenic oxide or small amount of feldspar is added to
glass.

f) CULLET
Waste or broken glass species are called CULLET. In normal glass
production 33% of charge is broken glasses. Recycling of cullet
increases the rate of production.

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

g) COLOURING AGENT
Metal oxide is added as colorant during manufacture of colour glasses
e.g. oxides of chromium and iron give green glass while copper and
cobalt give blue glass.

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

GLASS MANUFACTURING

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

The manufacturing process of glass consisting of the following four
steps;
1. Melting the charge
2. Fabrication of the article
3. Annealing the article formed
4. Finishing treatments

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

1. Melting the Charge
 Amount of raw materials for the batch are calculated from the
chemical composition of individual components

 Minor ingredients are weighed accurately and given a preliminary

mixing with one of the dry batch ingredients before adding to the
main charge then to the batch mixer which is a revolving drum
provided with blades to lift and spread the material uniformly

 After proper mixing of ingredient it is charged into the furnace

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

2. Fabrication of an article
 The molten glass is fabricated to require size and shape either by
hand or by machine
 Hand fabrication is adopted for small production and machine
fabrication is adopted for large scale production
 Following are the different ways of fabrication;
a) Blowing
b) Casting
c) Drawing
d) Pressing
e) Rolling
f) Spinning
Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad
a) Blowing
 Blow pipe of diameter is about 12mm and its length about 180cm is used
for blowing purpose
 One end of the blow pipe is dipped in the molten mass of glass and lump
of about 5 kg weight is taken out
 This lump of glass will then lengthen to some extent by its own weight. The
operator then blows vigorously from other end of blow pipe
 The same can also be done with the heat of an air compressor
 This blowing causes the molten mass
to assume the shape of cylinder. It is
then heated for few seconds and is
blown again
 The blowing and heating are
continued till the cylinder of required
size is formed Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad
b) Casting
The molten glass is poured in molds and it is allowed to cool down
slowly, large pieces of glass of simple design can be prepared by this
method. It is also adopted to prepared mirrors and lenses
c) Drawing
Simply pulling the molten glass either by hand or mechanical
equipment is carried out. In the process, an iron bar is dipped sideways
in the molten mass of glass. Then it is lifted up horizontally and in doing
so, it catches up a sheet of molten glass. The sheet is then allowed pass
over a large rotating roller. The roller helps the molten glass to spread in
the sheet

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

d) Pressing
 In this process, the molten glass is pressed into molds
 The pressure may be applied by hand or by mechanical means
 This process is adopted for ornament article and hollow glass articles

e) Rolling
There are two methods of rolling;
 In one method, the molten mass of glass passes between heavy iron
rollers and flat glass plate of uniform thickness is obtained
 In another method the molten mass of glass is poured on a flat iron
casting table and it is then turned flat with the help of a heavy iron
roller
Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad
f) Spinning
The molten glass is spun at high speed to a very fine size.
 This glass has tensile strength equal to that of mild steel
 It does not fade, decay or shrink
 It is not attached by acids, fire and vermin
 It is very soft and flexible. It is used for providing insulation against
electricity and sound

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

3. ANNEALING
 Glass articles, after being manufactured, are to be cooled down
slowly and gradually. This process of slow and homogeneous cooling of
glass articles is known as annealing of glass

 Annealing of glass is a very important process

 If glass articles are allowed to cool down rapidly, the superficial layer of
glass cools down first, as glass is a bad conductor of heat. The inter
portion remains comparatively hot and it is, therefore in a state of strain
 Hence such glass article breaks to pieces under very slight shocks or
disturbances

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

 Following are the methods of annealing
a) Flue Treatment
b) Oven treatment

a) FLUE TREATMENT
 This method is useful for large scale production
 In the process long flue is used which is constructed in such a way that
there is gradual decrease in temperature from one end of it to the
other
 The red-hot articles of glass are allowed to enter at the hot end of flue
and they are slowly moved on travelling bands. They become cool
when they reach the cool end of flue

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

b) OVEN TREATMENT
 This method is useful for small scale production
 The red-hot glass articles are placed in ovens, in which arrangement
is made to control the temperature
 After articles are placed in ovens, the temperature is slowly brought
down

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

4. FINISHING TREATMENTS
a) Bending
b) Cutting
c) Opaque making
d) Silvering

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

a) Bending
 Glass may be bent into desired shape by placing it in ovens in which
temperature can be regulated
 Glass in the form of rods, sheets or tubes is placed in such ovens and
heated. It is then bent when it is suitably heated

b) Cutting
 Glass is cut in required sizes with the help of diamond or rough glasses
or small wheels of hardened steel

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

c) OPAQUE MAKING
 Glass can also be made opaque or impervious to light
 It is done by grinding the glass surface with emery cloth. It can also be
achieved chemically by the application of hydrofluoric acid

d) SILVERING
 This process consists in applying a very thin coat of tin on the surface of
glass
 Silver is deposited on this layer of tin
 A suitable paint is then applied to give protection, against atmospheric
effects

Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad

PROPERTIES OF GLASS
 Glass has excellent properties amongst various material of
construction
 To summarize the good properties of glass, following parameters
can be considered;
o Hardness
o Transparency
o Refractive index
o Dispersion of light
o Low coefficient of expansion
o Insulation
o Thermal conductivity
o Chemical inertness
Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad
 The properties of glass are mainly governed by factors such as composition of the
constituent, state of surface, thermal treatment conditions, dimensions of specimens
etc.
o Absorbs, refracts or transmits light
o Can take up a high polish
o Has no definite crystalline structure
o Has no sharp melting point
o Excellent electrical insulator at elevated temperatures due to the fact the glass
can be considered as an ionic liquid
o Available in beautiful colors
o Behaves as more solid than most solids in the sense that it is elastic. But when that
elastic limit is exceeded, it fractures instead of deforming
o It can be blown, drawn or pressed. But it is difficult to cast in large pieces
o Extremely brittle
o Usually not affected by air or water
Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad
o It is not easily attacked by ordinary chemical reagents
o Possible to intentionally alter some of its properties such as fusibility, hardness refractive
power etc.
o The glasses may be cleaned colorless, diffused and stained
o It is possible to weld pieces of glass by fusion
o It is transparent and translucent. The transparency is the most used characteristic of glass
and it is due to the absence of free electrons. For the same reason. It is works as a good
insulator
o When heated, it becomes soft and transformed into a mobile liquid, which on cooling
formed into articles of desired shape
o It is possible to manufacture glass lighter than cork or softer than cotton or stronger than
steel. Not easily affected by air/oxidizing agent
o Highly stable against acid but affected easily by alkalis
o When fused with excess of fusion mixture, glass decomposes into silicates and carbonates
of metal
Lecture By: Engr. Mina Arshad